Legislative Priorities

posted on January 5, 2018

Iowans for Tax Relief represents taxpayers from across Iowa. We know the best way to create economic growth is by decreasing government spending, lowering tax rates for all, and reducing the regulatory burden. During the 2018 legislative session we will focus our efforts on the following priorities:

No Tax Increases

ITR believes that any opportunity to reform the current tax code and reduce the tax burden should include the following principles:

Fair: Iowa’s tax code should not favor one group of taxpayers at the expense of another.

Competitive: Iowa should have lower tax rates to make Iowa more competitive with our neighbors. The Iowa tax code should encourage, rather than hinder, economic growth.

Transparent: The Iowa tax code is complex and needs to be simplified. Taxpayers in Iowa deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to tax credits and incentives.

Limited: Taxes should only be collected to finance the essential functions of state government. It is immoral for government to believe it has an unlimited claim to the hard-earned income of individuals and businesses.

Protective of Freedom: Iowa’s tax code should promote freedom and should not be used for social engineering. Iowa shouldn’t create new taxes or substitute one tax for another.

ITR supports permanent taxpayer protection in the form of a constitutional amendment to stop state government from spending more than it takes in. The Iowa code currently limits spending to 99% of the projected revenues, but this is a weak spending limitation law and spending has exceeded the limit many times.

During the 2017 session, the Iowa Senate passed SJR 9 with a 38-10 vote. This measure would limit the annual increase in spending from year to year to the lesser of 99% of estimated revenue, or 104% of the prior year’s revenue. A fiscal analysis by the LSA found Iowa would have spent $488.2 million less since FY 2012 if the expenditure limitations of SJR 9 had been in place.